new Tori Amos album looks to be the most embarrassing release in history of music

[Slacker]

Boing! The album is out today. I snagged it on iTunes this morning and have been listening to it most of the morning. So far so good! I haven’t made the effort to get into the concept yet (which strikes me as fairly convoluted at first glance, but I’ll give it a shot sometime), but I’m really enjoying the music itself.

As I’ve been listening I jotted down which songs I liked, what was OK, and which tracks just sucked. So far only one song has landed in the last category, which ironically is the first single, Big Wheel. I understand the sarcasm/humor she’s going for, but I just can’t stand the sound of it. Aside from that, nine tracks are in the “sounds good” column already, with the rest needing more listens to determine their worth. I’m not counting the five throwaway interlude songs, btw (like Yo George and Fat Slut). I assume they serve some purpose in the grand scheme of the concept, but they initially strike me as a waste of space.

My favorites so far as Dragon, Bouncing Off Clouds, Code Red, and Girl Disappearing.

I’m not great at articulating music impressions so I’ll post a little of a review that I found that sums it up pretty well. This guy gives the album an 8/10 and very high praise throughout the review. And for those who haven’t enjoyed her recent stuff, he apparently hated The Beekeeper (he refers to its disastrous/saccharine missteps).

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/music/reviews/33738/tori-amos-american-doll-posse/

There are moments of jaw-dropping virtuosity on American Doll Posse, the kind of moments Tori’s fans live for: unexpected vocal layering and harmonies, piano lines driven home at break-neck speed, and an overall sound that is everything and the kitchen sink. Vocally, after her last two releases, there were whispers of Amos losing her edge—she wasn’t hitting the impossible high notes of her Little Earthquakes days, and this alarmed many listeners.

The worried Toriphiles should be able to rest easy now: Amos’s vocal work on Posse is some of her most accomplished.

In Posse‘s closer, “Dragon”, Amos is at her absolute finest: vocals up front and center, fairytale piano straight out of a Brothers Grimm piece, and a creepy-crawly sensibility that mixes with a pristine, almost cutesy tone. It’s the kind of delicate balance that has been sorely lacking in Amos’s recent output, and anyone who thought she couldn’t pull this sort of epic off any longer should be properly impressed. It is a track that stands among her all-time best compositional work.

If American Doll Posse would have been edited into a shorter, more concise record (which would have been easy to do—starting with cutting four or five of the “short songs"), it could have been Amos’s best.

More reviews can be found linked from the albums Wikipedia page if you’re into that kind of thing. Anyone else check it out yet?

[Marley23]

The AllMusic Guide also gave this one a solid review. I haven’t been in a Tori mood for months, but I think I’ll pick it up - maybe she knew what she was doing after all.